Music festivals are big business for everyone involved. There is a lot of money to be made by the performers, the promoters and those involved with the production. Someone has to spend this money and it isn't all just going into the pockets of some out-of-towners, pillaging the area for a few days of fun. Some of those big festival dollars do stay in the area, which is why locals compete to have festivals in their jurisdictions. Major EDM festival TomorrowWorld just released an economic impact study done by ICF International, to show just how much they have grossed for the area of Atlanta, which they are based in and the tax revenue they have generated for the state of Georgia over the past two years. 2014's total was a pretty dramatic increase to $93.9 million in contributions of some form or another to the Georgia total economy.
According to ID&T's TomorrowWorld, 79% of attendees in 2014 were from outside of the Atlanta region, which is good for bringing new money to the region. In 2013, the taxman was able to take home $4.3 million from the festivities and surrounding spending, which increased to $4.7 million in 2014. The economic impact on Atlanta increased from $65.8 million to $71.8 million, while the total for Georgia also rose from $85.1 million to $93.9 million. This totals an impressed $173 million.
"These numbers are a humbling reminder that our work has a significant impact to our local community and home," said Jamie Reilly, project director of TomorrowWorld, via a statement.
The rise in economic impact is largely due to more attendees in 2014 vs 2013 - an increase of 34,000 revelers. EDM fans spent a considerable amount of money on lodging and travel, while also splurging on food, beverages and entertainment, which includes possible time in the Atlanta area before and after the festival.
"The organizer's production-related spending, expenditures made by out-of-town participants on lodging and entertainment while in Atlanta, and event-related spending made by local residents who participated in the festival," said the ICF International release about their findings via Forbes.
Check out the nice infographic provided by TomorrowWorld that puts all of the numbers into a nice visual format.
